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The Elizabethtown City Council met for a work session Monday evening.

Helping Hand of Hope Executive Director Hope Burke gave the council the organization’s 2023 impact report. Burke said the organization is asking the city to allot $5,000 to them in the upcoming budget. Burke said Helping Hand of Hope has never asked for financial support from the city before, but demand has been increasing on a month to month basis.

“The people that are coming to us, I know sometimes there is that misunderstanding of ‘oh, they’re just, you know, riding the system’ or ‘oh, they really don’t need this assistance,’ but they truly do,” Burke said “We have seniors that’s rent has increased anywhere from $300 to $500 a month. We have single parents that are working, actually making $20 an hour, and still can’t afford their rent with childcare, food, and everything else like that.”

Elizabethtown Mayor Jeff Gregory told Burke the city appreciates the efforts of the organization and the burden that has taken off the city.

E-Town Natural Gas Department Director Matthew Hobbes gave a department update. Hobbes said the department has been busy with several capital projects. Hobbes said project costs and increased employee pay means the city will likely need to consider a rate increase soon.

“I wouldn’t come saying that we need to raise rates unless the writing was on the wall, and it’s looking like that time is about now where we need to be doing something before you get so low that you can’t comfortably operate, so I think we need to look at our tap fees,” Hobbes said. “I think we need to look at what we’re charging for the gas going through the meters, and what you’re charging for just everyday work.”

Representatives from RSA Financial Advisors gave a presentation to the council on the status of the current market and possible financing solutions for the city, including revenue bond services. Gregory said the city’s contribution to the Buffalo Lake concert venue the city is partnering with the E-Town Tourism and Convention Bureau on will likely be paid using bonds.

The city council and the tourism bureau will meet for a joint meeting Thursday which will be followed by a groundbreaking for the Buffalo Trail Phase One project. After budget meetings start on May 6, the Elizabethtown City Council will next meet in a special meeting on May 13.

One of the suspects charged in the Crystal Rogers investigation is asking to be tried separately from the other suspects.

The defense for Joseph Lawson has filed a Motion for Severance of Co-Defendants or Exclusion of Co-Defendant’s Statements with the Nelson Circuit Court. The motion calls for Lawson to be tried in a separate trial from Steven Lawson and Brooks Houck, or to have out-of-trial testimonials from Houck and Steven Lawson be excluded.

Special Prosecutor Shane Young previously filed a motion to try all three suspects in the same trial. The Motion for Severance states that the introduction of out-of-court statements denies Joseph Lawson’s right to cross-examination and would therefore deny him his right to present a defense. The filing also states concern for the potential for conflicting defenses and strategies between the defendants, which could potentially confuse the jury.

The motion will be discussed during the next pre-trial conference in the case, which is scheduled for June 13. Progress on finding a new venue for the trial will be discussed at a hearing on May 1.